noun(plural-dies)Etymology: Middle English, from Latin prosodia accent of a syllable, from Greek prosōidia song sung to instrumental music, accent, from pros in addition to + ōidē song — more at pros-, odeDate: 15th century1. the study of versification; especially the systematic study of metrical structure
2. a particular system, theory, or style of versification
3. the rhythmic and intonational aspect of language
• prosodistnoun

Prosody — Pros o*dy, n. [L. prosodia the tone or accent of a syllable, Gr. ? a song sung to, or with, an accompanying song, the accent accompanying the pronunciation; ? to + ? song, ode: cf. F. prosodie. See {Ode}.] That part of grammar which treats of the … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

prosody — ► NOUN 1) the patterns of rhythm and sound used in poetry. 2) the theory or study of these patterns, or the rules governing them. 3) the patterns of stress and intonation in a language. DERIVATIVES prosodic adjective prosodist noun. ORIGIN Greek… … English terms dictionary

prosody — [15] Despite the passing similarity, prosody has no etymological connection with prose. In fact, its closest English relative is ode. It comes via Latin prosōdia from Greek prosōidíā, which originally meant ‘song with an instrumental… … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

prosody — pros•o•dy [[t]ˈprɒs ə di[/t]] n. pl. dies 1) pro the science or study of poetic meters and versification 2) pro a particular or distinctive system of metrics and versification: Milton s prosody[/ex] 3) phn the stress and intonation patterns of an … From formal English to slang